Othello Context


	Moors
	The term ‘Moor’ now refers to inhabitants of North England who conquered Spain in the eighth century. At the time, views regarding ‘Moors’ were slightly more complex because of the strong anti-Catholic sentiment and England fears the invasion by the Spanish. It is difficult to know how many English people had seen someone with a different skin colour to their own.	In Shakespearean time, appearance was supposed to indicate what lies within (good or evil).A physical deformity was considered to be a mark of the devil.Black traditionally other colour of evil according to both biblical and mythical sources. Interracial marriages would have been schocking and frowned upon at the time.Black people were regarded as exotic, but potentially savage, threatening or dangerous.
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The term ‘Moor’ now refers to inhabitants of North England who conquered Spain in the eighth century. At the time, views regarding ‘Moors’ were slightly more complex because of the strong anti-Catholic sentiment and England fears the invasion by the Spanish. It is difficult to know how many English people had seen someone with a different skin colour to their own.

In Shakespearean time, appearance was supposed to indicate what lies within (good or evil).A physical deformity was considered to be a mark of the devil.Black traditionally other colour of evil according to both biblical and mythical sources. Interracial marriages would have been schocking and frowned upon at the time.Black people were regarded as exotic, but potentially savage, threatening or dangerous.

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